YGO – is a multimedia project involving 3 artists from St.Petersburg, Russia. YGO is a synthesis of experimental music, video art and unique ancient Russian singing tradition “Znamenny Raspev” (Znamenny Chant). One of the goals of the project is to familiarize the general public with the history and treasures of Russian Spiritual music and liturgical chant.
When Orthodox religion came to the Russia (late XI century to the XVII century) tunes and motifs of Byzantine “Osmoglasiye” were gradually transformed and acquired features of national Russian music and character, hand in hand with Byzantine Orthodox religion itself, which was brought to Early Russ long before the first Russian cantor's books and manuscripts appeared. Together with the new faith, Russia also adopted its already complex system of religious service, borrowed from the Byzantine tradition. This included liturgic chant. It took several hundred years (approximately until XIV century) for Christianity to take root and for liturgic chant to be adapted to Russian settings. In the course of this, the chant became known in Russian as “Znamenny raspev”. It was this type of monodic chant that remained predominant in the Russian church until XVI century. It was almost forgotten after the early XVIII century until it’s “discovery” in the end of XIX alongside with iconic art.
Znamenny Raspev chants are sung in unison. And this very style of singing, though on the surface less picturesque if compared to polyphonic singing, enables to create an icon-like type of music, a plane laconic 2-dimention melodic pattern, instead of a 3-dimention pattern which is definitely richer in colours. Perspective and space inevitably come along with the idea of materiality, tangibility of the world, which is reflected in the wide and deep spacious accords of the polyphonic harmonized vocal, while the monophonic melodic (monodic) line is similar to the ancient icon in creating flat, non-perspective images, which alone establishes certain estrangement from the visible, tangible world. If at the church service one hears the call "to glorify Our Heavenly Lord with one heart and with one mouth" monophonic music fits the idea best. And the last but not the least, monody singing helps to concentrate attention while praying. Znamenny Raspev is a reliable and well-tested way to purify and sober the one’s mind when praying, "the greatest of the greatest doings", unsophisticated state of mind, concentrated prayer through both mind and heart, which is the way for the soul to Heaven.
As it happens so often, the musical structure of the half-forgotten ancient tradition of Znamenny Raspev has something in common with modern music concepts. Electronic and 'just intonation' music use the same modes as Byzantine and Old Russian monodic singing. The essence of the YGO project is to achieve the synthesis of these two concepts. Thus the project is neither reconstruction nor restoration of ancient tradition. It's authentic and distinctive music supported with original video art and may be more likely referred to modern experimental and avant-garde music trends.
line up: tatyana kalmykova - vocal
alexei pliousnine - prepared guitar
yuri elik - video
